Curbed Cup 1st round: (4) Lakeview vs. (13) River North

The Curbed Cup, our annual award for the Chicago neighborhood of the year, is kicking off with 16 areas vying for the prestigious (fake) trophy. This week we'll have two matchups per day, and all the results and the full tournament bracket will be reviewed on Friday. Voting for each pairing ends 24 hours after it begins. Let the eliminations commence!

Lakeview

The Lakeview neighborhood played a starring role this year in news and headlines across the nation during the Chicago Cubs’ historic World Series run. Wrigleyville, a pocket neighborhood of Lakeview, was electric in the lead up to final few games with tens of thousands of fans flooding the streets and bars around the ballpark to watch the Cubs make history. And beyond the Cubs’ big W, Wrigleyville—and other parts of Lakeview—have been witnessing a tremendous amount of new development in the forms of new hotels, retail spaces, and residences. It seems that anywhere you look, there is some construction activity going on, and there are more projects on the way.

River North

Similar to other downtown areas like The Loop, the South Loop, the West Loop, and Streeterville, River North has been experiencing a major construction boom over the last few years. The most notable recent addition includes the new Wolf Point West tower, while work continues on many others such as 640 North Wells, The Hudson, 412 N. Wells, 400 W. Huron, and 8 W. Chestnut. In addition the tall, glassy towers popping up near the river’s edge, new development continues encroaching in on the former Cabrini-Green site leading many to speculate how the area may one day look and feel. And if all goes according to planned, a couple more sleek glassy towers will help fill in the underutilized Wolf Point.

• All Curbed Cup coverage [Curbed Chicago]